Orlando Pirates explain Paseka Mako's Soweto Derby tactical approach

With regular right-back Thabo Monyane on the bench and Bandile Shandu on the stands, the Pirates technical team which had its head coach Jose Riveiro on the stands finishing a two-match suspension made this strange call. Almenera says it was informed by their tactical approach on the day.

"It was a tactical approach in order to get advantages. So, we thought that getting Mako inside with a left foot playing behind the first or second player will give us an advantage. Which happened once when Dzvukamanja ran into the space in the first minute of the game, so that's what we were trying to do with this approach," he said.

Pirates is also one of the few teams which have managed to assemble a strong line-up of strikers, but in recent matches, they don’t seem to be utilizing them. The likes of Kermit Erasmus, Bienvenu Eva Nga, Evidence Makgopa, and newly signed Cameroonian striker Marou Souaibou have not seen much action recently. Almenera says this is purely based on their approach on game-to-game situations.

"We are trying to find a perfect fit for our squad, so the players can fit in to the game plan. So, the game plan was with these players and we thought that we could manage in attack and in defense," he added.

Reflecting on the Chiefs dominance over Pirates in the last two years, which has seen Amakhosi registering its 74th overall victory against Bucs, two doubles, and five straight wins in this period, the Spaniard born coach says these two losses were self-inflicted.

"I can't talk about last season, we think that the first game was a bit unfair, even though it was not our best performance. Today, even though we tried to fight, having one man down affected us. If we had 11 men on the field we could have done more," he concluded.